The shocking killing and dismemberment of Hong Kong model and influencer Abby Choi was allegedly triggered by a bitter family dispute over a multimillion-dollar luxury apartment, prosecutors told jurors as the long-awaited murder trial got underway.
Choi, 28, disappeared on Feb. 21, 2023. Just three days later, police discovered portions of her remains inside a rented village house in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district.
The gruesome discovery stunned Hong Kong and made international headlines.
Authorities found two legs believed to belong to Choi inside a refrigerator. Other remains, including a skull, ribs and hair, were later recovered from cooking pots at the property.
Now, more than three years later, prosecutors say the motive may have come down to money.
Choi’s ex-husband, Alex Kwong, his father, Kwong Kau, and Alex’s older brother, Anthony Kwong, are standing trial in Hong Kong’s High Court on a joint murder charge.
All three have pleaded not guilty to killing Choi.
Alex and Anthony have separately pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of her body, while their father has denied that charge.
Prosecutors say Choi had continued helping her former husband’s family financially even after her marriage to Alex ended.
Choi came from a wealthy family and built a glamorous public profile as a model and socialite. She had more than 100,000 followers on Instagram and regularly shared photographs from luxury fashion events, international trips and magazine shoots.
She and Alex had two children together. After their divorce, Choi entered a relationship with restaurant entrepreneur Chris Tam and had two more children.
Despite ending her marriage to Alex, prosecutors say Choi initially remained close to his family.
That relationship allegedly began falling apart over a luxury apartment.
According to prosecutors, Choi purchased the property in Hong Kong’s upscale Kadooria residential area in 2019 for approximately HK$60 million.
The apartment was reportedly placed in her former father-in-law’s name to reduce the amount of tax Choi would have owed if it were registered directly to her.
Kwong Kau and his wife were allowed to live there, and prosecutors say Choi continued providing financial assistance to the family.
But things allegedly changed in 2022 when Choi decided she wanted to sell the property and move her children’s grandparents closer to where the children would attend school.
By that time, the apartment was valued at approximately HK$72 million, equivalent to roughly $9.2 million in U.S. currency.
Prosecutors say Kwong Kau strongly opposed the sale.
The dispute allegedly became increasingly hostile, with prosecutors claiming Choi eventually threatened legal action to force him to cooperate with the sale.
According to the prosecution, Kwong Kau became “extremely resentful and angry” over the possibility of losing the home.
Prosecutor Charlotte Draycott told jurors that money was at the center of what followed.
The prosecution alleges Kwong Kau eventually recruited his two sons to help carry out a plan to kill Choi and dispose of her body.
“We say the three of them decided they would do it together,” Draycott told the court.
The defense has denied the murder allegations, and none of the three men has been convicted of killing Choi.
Prosecutors are expected to argue that preparations for the alleged plot began before Choi disappeared.
The Tai Po property where her remains were later discovered had reportedly been rented shortly before her death. Police said at the time that investigators found equipment inside the home that included an electric saw, meat slicer and other items they believed were connected to the disposal of her body.
Prosecutors allege Choi was ultimately lured into a vehicle on Feb. 21 while believing she was being taken to pick up one of her children.
She was later reported missing.
When police searched the rented property three days later, the investigation took a horrifying turn.
In addition to the remains found inside the refrigerator, authorities later recovered Choi’s skull and other body parts from large cooking pots containing vegetables.
Police conducted an extensive search for additional remains, including combing through a landfill.
The case became particularly disturbing to the public because Choi’s social media presence had portrayed an entirely different world.
Only days before she vanished, she had been posting about fashion and her appearances at major events. She had attended Paris Fashion Week and had been photographed at shows for luxury brands including Dior.
Her death quickly became one of Hong Kong’s most closely followed criminal cases.
The current trial is expected to last roughly eight weeks and will be heard by a nine-person jury.
Jurors are expected to hear evidence involving surveillance footage, financial records, witness testimony and the defendants’ alleged movements before and after Choi disappeared.
Prosecutors will attempt to prove that the dispute over the apartment escalated into a coordinated murder plot.
The three defendants maintain their not-guilty pleas to murder, meaning the prosecution must still prove its allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.
If guilty maybe they should get the same treatment